Tesla Sues Former Employee for $1 Million Over Data Theft and Sabotage

Specifically, Tripp claims that Tesla shipped punctured batteries with the Model 3, that the Model 3 is unsafe as a result, and that Musk has been busy lying to investors.

The auto company, headed by billionaire tech tycoon Elon Musk, confirmed in a statement to Newsweek on Thursday that it believes the incident to be tied to Martin Tripp.

"Tripp also made false claims about the information he stole from Tesla", the company's lawsuit alleges.

Tesla said it planned to prove exactly how much it deserved to receive in damages during the trial, but given the claims in Tesla's lawsuit, you can bet it's not peanuts. What is a bit sketchy is the Tesla CEO buying a family business, then leaning on it to downsize during critical times.

There are new details in Tesla's lawsuit accusing a former employee at its NevadaGigafactory of stealing trade secrets, hacking its manufacturing operating system and lying to the media about its Model 3 manufacturing practices.

While Tesla's lawyers say Tripp, who was sacked last week after working as a technician at the Gigafactory for about eight months, was upset over losing a promotion, Tripp says the row between him and the company was borne over his role as a whistleblower.

Tripp says he moved to Nevada to work for Tesla because he was a big fan of the company and believed he could help the company accelerate the transition to sustainable energy. In addition to $1 million in damages, Tesla is requesting access to Tripp's phone, home computer and email accounts to further determine the extent of the alleged sabotage. Tripp was a former technician with the company who was this week hit with legal action and accused of pilfering "several gigabytes" of data.

The exchange had began with Mr Tripp saying: "You have what's coming to you for the lies you have told to the public and investors".

But it wasn't just the sabotage to Tesla's production line and fake news stories that concerned the automaker.

Tripp said he was visited by sheriffs deputies Tuesday night about the threat allegations. He added that Musk is a "narcissist" and "only cares about himself".

It's not certain how many people have lost jobs as a result of the closures, although some of the affected people may relocate to other centers. Tripp fired back and said putting unsafe cars on the road is being a "horrible human being".

In a tweet earlier this week, Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk touted a new tent on the campus that is being used for the production of the Model 3. And of course a company with billions of dollars in product is going to have millions of dollars in scrap. Police confirmed that an investigation is still ongoing and declined to provide more information to protect the integrity of the investigative process.